Karen Ridder

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What do you do with an old public wading pool after its usefulness has waned?If you are the folks in Salina, you turn it into a patchwork quilt pattern that can be seen from space. The bright colored design provided a unique place for my two boys to run, run, run… on a recent visit to Oakdale Park in that city. It was our first taste of the public art woven into the landscape throughout town.When I was younger, my knowledge of Salina was limited to the Bosselman truck stop and the Bicentennial Center. (It had something to do with college days and a Big 8 basketball tournament - - don’t ask). While both are quite nice, I had no idea that the area was home to a vibrant arts scene that creates a fun experience for families.

Some of the greatest things to see in our state require a trip down a dirt road and a sense of adventure. Threshing Machine Canyon is certainly no exception. That’s where you can see graffiti from the mid-1800s and walk in a place that has a curious past."

The Dyche Natural History Museum covers the non-human history of our state, but it is more than your normal grouping of “dead animals.” The stories behind the objects are just as interesting as the objects themselves. Here are a few of the tales:

As someone who grew up in Kansas City, the Legends Shopping Area is something sort of amazing for me. In a short time, the entire Village West area has sprung up as an entertainment mecca in a most unlikely spot.Now that we are a family of five, I find a quick trip to The Legends can give us the feeling that we have had a “get away” without having to travel very far.

The information highway got its start the hard way through Northeast Kansas.While Missouri’s St Joseph gets the credit as the jumping off point of for the Pony Express, the real adventure started in Kansas. The town of Elwood marks the spot where rough and ready Pony Express riders took on the first leg of a 1900-mile journey through eight states.

So much of the Kansas story is about pioneers and the Wild West that a day spent in the middle of Vikings, Nordic traditions and Spanish explorers may come as a surprise, but that’s what you get in Lindsborg.

The history of this town south of Salina IS one of pioneers, farmers and the wheat they brought with them, but it is also about a unique cultural tradition found no where else in the state.